Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894, to celebrate the achievements of the American labor unions.  The unions had pushed for better working conditions and shorter working hours, and they had succeeded.   Their successes improved working conditions across the land.

We celebrate another kind of labor.  We are invited to labor in the fields of our Master.  We don’t need to apply for the job, he has already welcomed us in.  Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

I’m caught by that last phrase, “in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  When we work to serve the Lord, we may not see the success of our labors.  But He assures us, our labor is not in vain.  The outcome of our words or actions are not often  immediate, but we can open the door for the Spirit.  The results will happen in God’s good time.

This thought is well expressed in the hymn “The Spirit Sends Us Forth to Serve,” text by Delores Dufner b. 1939, music by Thomas Haweis 1734-1820.   The fourth stanza follows:

“Then let us go to serve in peace,
the Gospel to proclaim.
God’s Spirit has empowered us;
we go in Jesus’ name.”

The God of unconditional love will bless your efforts and mine.  He has promised, “your labor is not in vain.”

Judy